


The Shield

by nychus



Series: Growing Up Citadel [13]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Baby!Gladio, Baby!Ignis, First Meetings, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 04:13:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: With Noctis with his father for the day, Ignis gets to spend time with his uncle and he finally meets the prince's future shield.





	The Shield

Ignis’s usual daily activities weren’t able to be done this day. Noctis got a rare treat to spend the day with his father, and the king took the prince to the aquarium. Noctis had tried really hard to bring Ignis too, but Ignis had lessons. 

Besides, Ignis thought it would do the prince some good to be just with his father (and any security detail).

Without his afternoon playdate, Ignis was allowed to shadow his uncle. While Stupeo worked in his office, Ignis worked on homework. However, when Stupeo needed to attend a meeting, Ignis was allowed to join him.

The young adviser was all too aware of the councilmen eyeing him the entire meeting. It was as if they were trying to find a way to kick him out. Ignis wasn’t sure, but he highly suspected that some of the children who had been hoping to be the prince’s adviser belonged to these men and women.

Ignis remained on his best behavior. He took notes and listened. Or tried to anyway. There was a lot of talk about agriculture and crop sharing. It was all rather boring and more than once Ignis could feel his eyes start to close, but he did his best.

After the meeting, Ignis heard a few of the members comment on how well Ignis did to his uncle. “He stayed awake better than Lord Cabot,” someone laughed. Ignis couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride.

On the way back to Stupeo’s office, they ran into Lord Amicitia and his son.

“Clarus, I a surprised to see you here and not with His Majesty,” Stupeo said in greeting.

“Lily is due any day now and I find it’s best to stay nearby,” Clarus laughed. “I see you have young Ignis with you. Weren’t you just in a meeting?”

Stupeo joined in the laughter, “Yes, and Ignis didn’t fall asleep once.”

While the men talked, Ignis looked curiously at the younger Amicitia. They’d never met, which Ignis had thought was strange seeing as how they both held important roles in Noctis’s life.

“Hi,” Ignis greeted. “I’m Ignis.”

“Gladio,” the other boy said. “I’m surprised you aren’t with the prince today.”

“He tried to get me to go, but I had classes.”

Gladio gave a short laugh, “Nerd.” Ignis didn’t know if he meant it as an insult or not. Context would say yes, but the grin on Gladio’s face would say otherwise. “Whatcha reading?”

Ignis glanced at the book in his hand. It was the first in the series of books about a famous adventurer traveling the world; the series he had gotten on his first Crystal Day. He held it up for Gladio to see.

“Ooh, I love those books. Have you read them all?”

“Yeah,” Ignis nodded enthusiastically. “I’m just re-reading them until Uncle takes me to the bookstore again.”

“Have you read the Ignatius Chronicles?” 

Ignis shook his head.

“It’s about a pirate, Captain Ignatius, and all the trials he goes through to get back home. They’re really good, you might like them.”

“Thanks, I’ll look for it next time.”

The young shield looked proud of himself and Ignis wondered if he wasn’t used to having book suggestions taken. Or maybe he didn’t get to recommend books often at all. Knowing that most people looked at the Lord Clarus as all brawn and no brain, he wondered if Gladio got the same presumptions. It was clearly as true for Gladio as it was for Lord Clarus, meaning not at all.

“How come you never come play with Noct and myself?” Ignis asked.

That earned a shrug, “Too old?”

Ignis wanted to point out that he couldn’t be much older than himself, but Gladio continued.

“I mean, by the time the prince was at the age he’d be playable with, I was already in school and had my own friends.”

That made some sense, Ignis supposed. But it seemed odd that Gladio was never around. He was Noctis’s future shield. Surely some rapport needed to be built up. Lord Clarus and King Regis seemed like the best of friends the few times Ignis had seen them together. Didn’t they want that for their sons?

Before Ignis could verbalize the question, Lord Clarus was saying he and Gladiolus needed to get going. They said their goodbyes (“Remember, Ignatius Chronicles. Let me know what you think!”) and parted ways.

Once back in Stupeo’s office, Ignis asked his uncle, but Stupeo didn’t have an answer.

“There will be time,” Stupeo said. “Perhaps they want to establish some independence between the two.” There was a thoughtful look on Stupeo’s face. “Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for you and Noctis as well.”

“NO!” Ignis cried, surprising himself at the outburst. He treasured the time he got to spend with Noctis. He didn’t want that to change. He loved how curious Noctis was about things, always asking what Ignis had learned in his lessons. He loved reading to him and playing with him. He didn’t want that to change.

“Okay, okay,” Stupeo laughed. “We won’t do anything. Nothing will change.”

“Apologies, Uncle,” Ignis whispered, quite ashamed of himself. “And thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been trying to include Gladio in this for ages. I think it's clear that he doesn't know Noctis before the attack since everyone says how carefree the prince was but the attack changed him. So, Gladio isn't going to really be around in this series. But he still needed to be, yano?
> 
>  
> 
> (I'll now probably always look at my 2-foot stuffed dino that I named Ignatius and think of this story, cuz I do that thing where I need a name so I look around my room)


End file.
